Connell, Seskevics Sign with Michigan in Early Period
11/28/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
"Both Cassandra and Abby are quality people who are strong students and that's what we look for first," said Michigan head coach Jim Richardson. "Neither one has yet to reach her full potential, and it will be exciting to try some new things and seeing if we can take them to the next level."
Seskevics was the Michigan state champion in 1999 and 2000 in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles and then added to her range this year by capturing the state title in the 200-yard freestyle. Her time of 1:51.7 in the 200-yard freestyle in the state championships bested her previous fastest time by nearly four seconds. In the 50-yard freestyle, Seskevics owns a time of 23.50 while her fastest time in the 100-yard freestyle is 50.86.
"Abby worked hard on her range this last year and was able to win the state championship in the 200-yard freestyle," said Richardson. "The fact that she can swim anywhere from the 50- to 200-yard freestyle will also have an impact on our relays next year."
Connell, whose main strengths are the distance freestyle and the backstroke, scored in the 200-yard backstroke at the Phillips 66 U.S. Summer Nationals in Clovis, Calif., and owns a time of 2:02.01 in that event.
"Cassandra returned to swimming after taking a break from it and was able to compete at the U.S. Summer Nationals," said Richardson. "She has a lot of ability and a lot of flexibility to swim different events, which is great for our team."
Michigan's next meet will be on Friday through Sunday (Nov. 30-Dec. 2) at the Georgia Invitational in Athens, Ga. Friday's and Saturday's preliminaries will begin at 10:30 a.m. and the finals will start at 6 p.m., while Sunday's events will start at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Contact: David Crabtree (734) 763-4423
